Emotional imagery and the visual startle reflex: Negative valence and high arousal independently increase magnitudes

1996 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charlotte van Oyen Witvliet ◽  
Scott R. Vrana
Keyword(s):  
Startle Reflex ◽  
High Arousal ◽  
Negative Valence ◽  
Emotional Imagery

scholarly journals Arousal modulates the motor interference effect stimulated by pictures of threatening animals

PeerJ ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. e10876
Author(s):  
Gai Cao ◽  
Peng Liu
Keyword(s):  
Effect Size ◽  
Interference Effect ◽  
Parietal Lobe ◽  
Reaction Times ◽  
Motor Preparation ◽  
Arousal Level ◽  
High Arousal ◽  
Negative Valence ◽  
Motor Priming ◽  
Positive And Negative Valence

Previous research related to the motor interference effect from dangerous objects indicated that delayed responses to dangerous objects were associated with more positive parietal P3 amplitudes, suggesting that great attentional resources were allocated to evaluate the level of danger (i.e., negative valence). However, arousal covaried with valence in this research. Together with previous studies in which the P3 amplitude was found to be increased along with a higher arousal level in the parietal lobe, we raised the issue that more positive parietal P3 amplitudes might also be affected by a high arousal level. To clarify whether valence or arousal impacted the motor interference effect, this study used a motor priming paradigm mixed with a Go/NoGo task and manipulated the valence (negative, neutral and positive) and arousal (medium and high) of target stimuli. Analysis of the behavioral results identified a significant motor interference effect (longer reaction times (RTs) in the negative valence condition than in the neutral valence condition) at the medium arousal level and an increased effect size (increment of RT difference) at the high arousal level. The results indicated that negative valence stimuli may interfere with the prime elicited motor preparation more strongly at the high arousal level than at the medium arousal level. The ERP results identified larger centroparietal P3 amplitudes for the negative valence condition than for the neutral valence condition at a high arousal level. However, the inverse result, i.e., lower centroparietal P3 amplitudes for the negative valence condition than for the neutral valence condition, was observed at a medium arousal level. The ERP results further indicated that the effect size of the behavioral motor interference effect increased because subjects are more sensitive to the negative valence stimuli at the high arousal level than at the medium arousal level. Furthermore, the motor interference effect is related to the negative valence rather than emotionality of the target stimuli because different result patterns emerged between the positive and negative valence conditions. Detailed processes underlying the interaction between valence and arousal effects are discussed.

scholarly journals Music Hath Charms : Effects of Valence, Arousal, and Absorption on the Regulation of Stress

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gillian M. Sandstrom
Keyword(s):  
White Noise ◽  
High Arousal ◽  
Negative Valence ◽  
Positive Valence ◽  
Valence And Arousal ◽  
Better Than

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of valence and arousal dimensions of music on physiological and subjective recovery from stress, and how these effects might be moderated by trait absorption. In Experiment 1, 40 participants experienced stress after being told to prepare a speech, and then listened to peaceful music or white noise. In Experiment 2, 88 participants experienced stress using the same methodology, and then listened to happy, peaceful, sad or agitated music. Music with a positive valence promoted recovery better than music with a negative valence, and low arousal music was more effective than high arousal music. In both experiments, differences in recovery were largely driven by individuals who were high in absorption.

scholarly journals Metacognition and Crossmodal Correspondences Between Auditory Attributes and Saltiness in a Large Sample Study

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-21
Author(s):  
Qian Janice Wang ◽  
Steve Keller ◽  
Charles Spence
Keyword(s):  
Crossmodal Correspondences ◽  
Complex Interplay ◽  
High Arousal ◽  
Online Study ◽  
Minor Mode ◽  
Negative Valence ◽  
Confidence Levels ◽  
Group Response ◽  
Average Confidence ◽  
Regular Rhythm

Abstract Mounting evidence demonstrates that people make surprisingly consistent associations between auditory attributes and a number of the commonly-agreed basic tastes. However, the sonic representation of (association with) saltiness has remained rather elusive. In the present study, a crowd-sourced online study ( participants) was conducted to determine the acoustical/musical attributes that best match saltiness, as well as participants’ confidence levels in their choices. Based on previous literature on crossmodal correspondences involving saltiness, thirteen attributes were selected to cover a variety of temporal, tactile, and emotional associations. The results revealed that saltiness was associated most strongly with a long decay time, high auditory roughness, and a regular rhythm. In terms of emotional associations, saltiness was matched with negative valence, high arousal, and minor mode. Moreover, significantly higher average confidence ratings were observed for those saltiness-matching choices for which there was majority agreement, suggesting that individuals were more confident about their own judgments when it matched with the group response, therefore providing support for the so-called ‘consensuality principle’. Taken together, these results help to uncover the complex interplay of mechanisms behind seemingly surprising crossmodal correspondences between sound attributes and taste.

scholarly journals Effects of Emotional Valence and Arousal on Time Perception

2014 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 360-378 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heather Van Volkinburg ◽  
Peter Balsam
Keyword(s):  
Information Processing ◽  
Emotional Arousal ◽  
Temporal Information ◽  
Arousal Level ◽  
Time Intervals ◽  
Reproduction Task ◽  
High Arousal ◽  
Negative Valence ◽  
Temporal Information Processing ◽  
Positive And Negative Valence

We examined the influence of emotional arousal and valence on estimating time intervals. A reproduction task was used in which images from the International Affective Picture System served as the stimuli to be timed. Experiment 1 assessed the effects of positive and negative valence at a moderate arousal level and Experiment 2 replicated Experiment 1 with the addition of a high arousal condition. Overestimation increased as a function of arousal during encoding of times regardless of valence. For images presented during reproduction, overestimation occurred at the moderate arousal level for positive and negative valence but underestimation occurred in the negative valence high arousal condition. The overestimation of time intervals produced by emotional arousal during encoding and during reproduction suggests that emotional stimuli affect temporal information processing in a qualitatively different way during different phases of temporal information processing.

scholarly journals Negative Emotion Responses to Heavy-Metal and Hip-Hop Music with Positive Lyrics

2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 2
Author(s):  
Marco Susino ◽  
Emery Schubert
Keyword(s):  
Heavy Metal ◽  
Hip Hop ◽  
Negative Emotion ◽  
Emotional Responses ◽  
Pop Music ◽  
High Arousal ◽  
Negative Valence ◽  
Social Contribution ◽  
Hip Hop Music ◽  
Hop Test

This research investigated whether negative emotional responses to heavy-metal and hip-hop music could be stereotypes of the music genres. It was hypothesized that heavy-metal and hip-hop music with positive lyrics would be perceived as expressing more negative (negative valence/high arousal) emotions, compared with pop music excerpts with identical lyrics. Participants listened to either two heavy-metal or two hip-hop test stimuli and two pop control stimuli. They then responded by stating what emotion they perceived that the music expressed. Results indicated that heavy-metal and hip-hop stimuli were perceived as expressing more negative emotions than pop stimuli. Lyrics were recognized above chance in both heavy metal and hip hop, suggesting that the negative emotion bias was not a result of misunderstanding the lyrics. The Stereotype Theory of Emotion in Music (STEM) explains the findings in terms of an emotion filter which is activated to simplify emotion perception processing. The conclusions provide a novel way of understanding the cultural and social contribution of emotion in music.

Valence Lasts Longer than Arousal

2009 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Gomez ◽  
P.G. Zimmermann ◽  
S. Guttormsen Schär ◽  
B. Danuser
Keyword(s):  
Heart Rate ◽  
Mood Induction ◽  
Skin Conductance Level ◽  
Affective State ◽  
Critical Question ◽  
High Arousal ◽  
Negative Valence ◽  
Film Clips ◽  
Induced Changes ◽  
Conductance Level

How long induced moods last is a critical question for mood research, but has been only poorly addressed to date. In particular, physiological parameters have rarely been included to assess the effectiveness of mood induction procedures. We investigated the persistence of four different moods (positive high-arousal, positive low-arousal, negative high-arousal, and negative low-arousal) induced by film clips during a computer task. We measured subjective affective state, respiration, skin conductance level (SCL), heart rate, and corrugator activity. People who watched the two negative clips reported more negative valence after the task and showed more facial frowning and lower SCL during the task than people who watched the two positive clips. No arousal effects persisted throughout the task. The results suggest that induced changes in the valence dimension of moods are maintained throughout an intervening task and are physiologically best reflected by corrugator activity and SCL, whereas induced changes in the arousal dimension dissipate quickly. The implications of these findings for mood research are discussed.

scholarly journals Aroused Argumentation: How the News Exacerbates Motivated Reasoning

2021 ◽  
pp. 194016122110105
Author(s):  
Ming M. Boyer
Keyword(s):  
Negative Affect ◽  
Motivated Reasoning ◽  
Black Box ◽  
News Item ◽  
Physiological Measures ◽  
High Arousal ◽  
Political News ◽  
Negative Valence ◽  
Valence And Arousal

There is increasing evidence that citizens consume the news because it arouses them. However, to explain the motivated processing of news messages, research usually focuses on negative discrete emotions or the valence dimension of affect. This means that the role of arousal is largely overlooked. In this experiment, conducted in 2019 in Austria, I exposed 191 citizens to a televised news item about immigration—varying the level of threat, while taking physiological measures of negative valence and arousal, followed by self-reported indicators of motivated reasoning. The results indicate that combining the valence and arousal dimensions of affect is the preferred way to understand citizens' reactions to political news. While negative affect predicted motivated reasoning, these effects were much more pronounced for those who experienced high arousal at the same time. Not only does this illuminate some of the black box behind motivated reasoning, the consequences for journalism are profound: the way that journalists cover the news might unwittingly drive citizens apart.

scholarly journals The Influence of Stimuli Valence and Arousal on Spatio-Temporal Representation of a Route

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 814
Author(s):  
Francesco Ruotolo ◽  
Filomena L. Sbordone ◽  
Ineke J. M. van der Ham
Keyword(s):  
Information Theory ◽  
High Arousal ◽  
Memory Processes ◽  
Negative Valence ◽  
Temporal Representation ◽  
Emotional Processes ◽  
Drawing Task ◽  
Spatio Temporal ◽  
Improved Performance ◽  
Valence And Arousal

This study assesses the influence of valence and arousal of element/landmarks along a route on the spatio-temporal representation of the route itself. Participants watched a movie of a virtual route containing landmarks with high arousal and positive (HP) or negative valence (HN), or landmarks with low arousal and positive (LP) or negative valence (LN). Afterwards, they had to (a) imagine walking distances between landmarks, (b) indicate the position of the landmarks along the route, (c) judge the spatial and temporal length of the route, and (d) draw the route. Results showed that the tasks were differentially influenced by the valence and arousal levels. Specifically, participants were more accurate in representing distances between positive, rather than negative, landmarks and in localizing positive high arousing landmarks. Moreover, the high arousing landmarks improved performance at the route drawing task. Finally, participants in the negative and low arousing conditions judged the route as being metrically and temporally longer than participants in positive and high arousing conditions. These results are interpreted in the light of theories about the effects of emotions on memory processes and the “feelings-as-information” theory. In brief, the results support the idea that representations of a route reflect a combination of cognitive and emotional processes.

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